Typical, office furniture such as storage cabinets are made of sheet metal and are generally rectangular boxes which lack asethetic appeal. Often, these cabinets are not positioned in the main part of an office because of their lack of asethetic appearance.
A problem with metal furniture, such as cabinets, is that the top and sides of the cabinets have hard surfaces which serve as mirrors for reflecting sound. As a result, background noises such as the sounds of typewriters, copying machines, telephones and other people's conversation serve to destroy workers acoustical privacy. Conversely, the ability to conduct private conversation without being overheard presents a problem. Therefore, in addition to improving the appearance of office furniture, there exists a need to protect workers from distracting background noise, as well as protecting their acoustical privacy.